I don’t know about y’all but in the Covid-19 pandemic, I’ve probably gained half of the 19 pounds. Oh wait, is the “19” not referring to the amount of weight gained during quarantining? My bad!
Dear Lord, Paul and I have eaten our way through the last 6 or so months. So now that school is starting up again (well, sort of – at least I’m hoping to have a normal schedule), I’m determined to once again cook healthy, yet delicious meals. Hence the grilled chicken tacos.
These are fresh, flavorful, and visually beautiful tacos. Oh and as I require, they’re super easy! I would suggest making these during the height of summer because of the fresh ingredients. In-season herbs, fruits, and vegetables make all the difference in this kind of recipe.
I did have a few changes (mainly because I’m lazy).
- I would double to the wet rub for the chicken. We only had one pound of chicken and made the rub as called for, but could’ve easily used more.
- We didn’t grill the avocado. Simply because it just seemed like a lot of trouble. Plus avocado on its own is a little piece of heaven here on earth. But if you’re into grilled avocado, have at it!
- We used queso fresco instead of cotija cheese. I like the flavor and texture better.
- We used flour tortillas because that’s all I could find while shopping and there’s no way I was gonna go to a second store. Again, I’m lazy.
- I heated the tortillas in a skillet then moved them to open flame so that they had that wonderful, charred flavor.
As Santa Barbara locals say at this time of year, “Viva la Fiesta!”
Herb-Grilled Chicken Tacos (recipe care of Lorena Garcia)
INGREDIENTS: 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vegetable oil (divided), 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme, 1 tsp. lime zest, 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt (divided), 3/4 tsp. black pepper (divided), 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 avocado (seeded and cut into 8 slices), 1 tomato (finely diced), 1/2 cup finely diced white onion, 1 small poblano chili (finely diced), 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 8 soft or hard corn tortillas, 2 oz. cotija cheese (crumbled)
DIRECTIONS: Preheat grill pan over high; brush with 1 tablespoon oil. Stir together thyme, zest, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly with herb mixture. Cook in hot pan until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan; remove pan from heat. Place avocado slices in pan, and let stand until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes. Let chicken stand 1 to 2 more minutes; cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Stir diced tomato, onion, poblano, cilantro, lemon juice and remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Fill with grilled chicken, pico de Gallo, grilled avocado and cheese.